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OZONE LAYER
The ozone layer or ozone shield refers to a region of Earth's stratosphere that
absorbs most of the Sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation. It contains high concentrations
of ozone (O3) relative to other parts of the atmosphere, although still very small
relative to other gases in the stratosphere.
ACID RAIN
Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic,
meaning that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). It can have
harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals and infrastructure.
OZONE LAYER DEPLETION
Ozone layer depletion, is simply the wearing out (reduction) of the amount of ozone
in the stratosphere. Unlike pollution, which has many types and causes, Ozone
depletion has been pinned down to one major human activity.
Industries that manufacture things like insulating foams, solvents, soaps, cooling
things like Air Conditioners, Refrigerators and Take-Away containers use something
called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). These substances are heavier than air, but over
time, (2-5years) they are carried high into the stratosphere by wind action.
Depletion begins when CFCs get into the stratosphere. Ultra violet radiation from
the sun breaks up these CFCs. The breaking up action releases Chlorine atoms.
Chlorine atoms react with Ozone, starting a chemical cycle that destroys the good
ozone in that area. One chlorine atom can break apart more than 100,000 ozone
molecules.
The Causes of Ozone Depletion
Scientific evidence indicates that stratospheric ozone is being destroyed by a group
of manufactured chemicals, containing chlorine and/or bromine. These chemicals
are called "ozone-depleting substances" (ODS).
ODS are very stable, nontoxic and environmentally safe in the lower atmosphere,
which is why they became so popular in the first place. However, their very stability
allows them to float up, intact, to the stratosphere. Once there, they are broken
apart by the intense ultraviolet light, releasing chlorine and bromine. Chlorine and
bromine demolish ozone at an alarming rate, by stripping an atom from the ozone
molecule. A single molecule of chlorine can break apart thousands of molecules of
ozone.
What's more, ODS have a long lifetime in our atmosphere up to several centuries.
This means most of the ODS we've released over the last 80 years are still making
their way to the stratosphere, where they will add to the ozone destruction.
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was a by-product of research of whether carbon dioxide would explain the causes
of the great Ice Ages. This was not actually verified until 1987.
After the discoveries of Arrhenius and Chamberlin the topic was forgotten for a
very long time. At that time it was thought than human influences were
insignificant compared to natural forces, such as solar activity and ocean
circulation. It was also believed that the oceans were such great carbon sinks that
they would automatically cancel out our pollution. Water vapor was seen as a
much more influential greenhouse gas.
In the 1940's there were developments in infrared spectroscopy for measuring
long-wave radiation. At that time it was proven that increasing the amount of
atmospheric carbon dioxide resulted in more absorption of infrared radiation. It
was also discovered that water vapor absorbed totally different types of radiation
than carbon dioxide. Gilbert Plass summarized these results in 1955. He concluded
that adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere would intercept infrared
radiation that is otherwise lost to space, warming the earth.
The argument that the oceans would absorb most carbon dioxide was still intact.
However, in the 1950's evidence was found that carbon dioxide has an
atmospheric lifetime of approximately 10 years. Moreover, it was not yet known
what would happen to a carbon dioxide molecule after it would eventually dissolve
in the ocean. Perhaps the carbon dioxide holding capacity of oceans was limited,
or carbon dioxide could be transferred back to the atmosphere after some time.
Research showed that the ocean could never be the complete sink for all
atmospheric CO2. It is thought that only nearly a third of anthropogenic CO 2 is
absorbed by oceans.
In the late 1950's and early 1960's Charles Keeling used the most modern
technologies available to produce concentration curves for atmospheric CO 2 in
Antarctica and Mauna Loa. These curves have become one of the major icons of
global warming. The curves showed a downward trend of global annual
temperature from the 1940's to the 1970's. At the same time ocean sediment
research showed that there had been no less than 32 cold-warm cycles in the last
2,5 million years, rather than only 4. Therefore, fear began to develop that a new
ice age might be near. The media and many scientists ignored scientific data of
the 1950's and 1960's in favor of global cooling.
In the 1980's, finally, the global annual mean temperature curve started to rise.
People began to question the theory of an upcoming new ice age. In the late
1980's the curve began to increase so steeply that the global warming theory
began to win terrain fast. Environmental NGO's (Non-Governmental Organizations)
started to advocate global environmental protection to prevent further global
warming. The press also gained an interest in global warming. It soon became a
hot news topic that was repeated on a global scale. Pictures of smoke stags were
put next to pictures of melting ice caps and flood events. A complete media circus
evolved that convinced many people we are on the edge of a significant climate
change that has manynegative impacts on our world today. Stephen Schneider
had first predicted global warming in 1976. This made him one of the world's
leading global warming experts.
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In 1988 it was finally acknowledged that climate was warmer than any period
since 1880. The greenhouse effect theory was named and Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was founded by the United Nations Environmental
Programme and the World Meteorological Organization. This organization tries to
predict the impact of the greenhouse effect according to existing climate models
and literature information. The Panel consists of more than 2500 scientific and
technical experts from more than 60 countries all over the world. The scientists
are from widely divergent research fields including climatology, ecology,
economics, medicine, and oceanography. The IPCC is referred to as the largest
peer-reviewed scientific cooperation project in history. The IPCC released climate
change reports in 1992 and 1996, and the latest revised version in 2001.
In the 1990's scientists started to question the greenhouse effect theory, because
of major uncertainties in the data sets and model outcomes. They protested the
basis of the theory, which was data of global annual mean temperatures. They
believed that the measurements were not carried out correctly and that data from
oceans was missing. Cooling trends were not explained by the global warming
data and satellites showed completely different temperature records from the
initial ones. The idea began to grow that global warming models had
overestimated the warming trend of the past 100 years. This caused the IPCC to
review their initial data on global warming, but this did not make them reconsider
whether the trend actually exists. We now know that 1998 was globally the
warmest year on record, followed by 2002, 2003, 2001 and 1997. The 10 warmest
years on record have all occurred since 1990.
The climate records of the IPCC are still contested by many other scientists,
causing new research and frequent responses to skeptics by the IPCC. This global
warming discussion is still continuing today and data is constantly checked and
renewed. Models are also updated and adjusted to new discoveries and new
theory.
So far not many measures have been taken to do something about climate
change. This is largely caused by the major uncertainties still surrounding the
theory. But climate change is also a global problem that is hard to solve by single
countries. Therefore in 1998 the Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in Kyoto, Japan. It
requires participating countries to reduce their anthropogenic greenhouse gas
emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs, and SF6) by at least 5% below 1990 levels in
the commitment period 2008 to 2012. The Kyoto Protocol was eventually signed in
Bonn in 2001 by 186 countries. Several countries such as the United States and
Australia have retreated.
From 1998 onwards the terminology on the greenhouse effect started to change as
a result of media influences. The greenhouse effect as a term was used fewer and
fewer and people started to refer to the theory as either global warming or climate
change.
HOW DOES OZONE LAYER DEPLETION AFFECT GLOBAL WARMING
The hole in the ozone layer in the earths upper atmosphere (stratosphere) reduces the greenhouse effect
because ozone is a greenhouse gas. However, ozone is needed in the stratosphere where it occurs naturally to
filter out harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
Ozone in the lower atmosphere (troposphere) is created by chemical reactions between pollutants and sunlight.
Ozone in the troposphere is dangerous to human health because it can cause lung damage and other
cardiopulmonary problems when breathed.
Meteorological Conditions
- A tropical cyclone will affect the locality.
- Winds of 30 - 60 kilometers per hour (kph) may be expected in at
least 36
hours or intermittent rains may be expected within 36 hours. (When the
tropical cyclone develops very close to the locality - a shorter lead time of
the
occurrence of the winds will be specified in the warning bulletin)
occurrence of fair weather immediately after very bad weather with very
strong
winds coming generally from the north.
- When the "eye" of the typhoon hit the community, do not venture
away from the
safe shelter because after one(1) to two(2) hours - the worst weather will
resume
with the very strong winds coming from the south.
- Classes in all levels should be suspended and children should stay in the
safety
of strong buildings and evacuation centers.
- Disaster preparedness and response agencies / organizations are in action
with
appropriate response to actual emergency.
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